Salim Ali, born on November 12, 1896, was one of India’s greatest scientists simply because he took the study of birds out of musty museum back rooms and into the field. Ali, who earned the title "Birdman of India" changed the nature of the ornithological questions from "what does a bird look like?" to "how does a bird behave and why does it do so?"

Ali’s interest in birds started when he was just 10 years old. The boy shot down a yellow throated sparrow with his airgun. His uncle took him to the Bombay Natural History Society to help him identify the bird. Ali would have a long association with the society and be its most famous president in later years.

Ali was a genius and a persistent one. After returning from his studies in Germany, he couldn’t land a job as an ornithologist. He persuaded the Bombay Natural History Society to let him venture into the vast unpopulated regions of India documenting subcontinent’s avifauna. Ali rendered this service for free as long as the society paid for his travel and accommodation. Ali’s vast knowledge of the birds of India came from his nomadic travels.

On the occasion of his 118th birthday here is a 1974 Films Division documentary on the Bird Man.